India needs much more clean energy to meet climate targets

livemint.com:

Narendra Modi chose as its theme a term from Sanskrit scripture, ‘Vasudhaiva kutumbakam,’ emphasizing global unity. He had spoken of climate change, alongside terrorism and pandemics, as one of the big challenges the world faces. With the G20 leaders’ summit held over the weekend, it’s notable how quiet that green rhetoric has gotten.

In comments to the Press Trust of India this week, Modi preferred to talk about a (failed) plastic bag ban and a quixotic campaign of global lifestyle changes—finishing up the food on your plate, not leaving the tap running, and eating more millets. There was no mention of the country’s ambitious target to install 500 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030. “There are no one-size-fits-all solutions" and “our pathways for energy transition will be different," he said, echoing diplomatic language that’s been used to push back against targets to phase out fossil fuels.

That emphasis is less surprising when you consider how torrid this year’s monsoon season has been. Hot and dry weather has caused the 7%-9% of households with air-conditioning to crank it up, while farmers have switched on groundwater irrigation pumps, pushing demand from the grid to a record 240 gigawatts on 1 September. With a rainfall shortage causing hydroelectric dams to run short and renewable installations [unable to fill shortfalls], that’s pushed coal consumption to record levels.

Output rose 13% from a year earlier in August to nearly 68 million tonnes, India’s ministry of coal boasted last week. Power cuts, rightly, are out of the question, especially with general elections coming up. India is the last country that should take blame for the climate situation the world is in.